187 patterns

Crochet Doily Patterns

Crochet doily patterns make decorative lace mats, traditionally worked in fine cotton crochet thread with a steel hook in increasing rounds. Modern doilies and mandalas often use sport or DK cotton for a bolder, faster result. Blocking and starching give doilies their flat, crisp finish and open up the lace pattern.

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Crochet doilies

What thread is used for crochet doilies?

Crochet doilies are traditionally made with size 10 mercerized cotton thread and a 1.5–1.75 mm steel hook. Finer size 20 or 30 thread creates delicate, heirloom lace, while sport or DK cotton yarn with a 3–3.5 mm hook makes a larger, modern doily.

Which doily patterns are free, with written instructions?

The Tea Time Ruffle Doily and the Small Pineapple Doily are free in full on this site, written out round by round in modern US terms with the original photograph. Every other doily here shows its first rounds free, so you can check the thread, hook and style before choosing a pattern. The doilies come from 1940s and 1950s American Thread Company and Spool Cotton Company books.

Which crochet doily patterns suit beginners?

Choose a small doily with few rounds, short repeats and a photograph clear enough to compare your work against. Ruffled doilies are more forgiving than pineapple and filet designs, because small tension differences disappear into the ruffle. Work your first doily in size 10 thread even if the pattern names a finer thread: it will simply come out larger.

Frequently asked questions

How do you starch a crochet doily?

Soak it in fabric starch or diluted glue, pin it flat to shape on a covered board, and let it dry fully.

Are doilies hard to crochet?

Fine thread doilies are intermediate; yarn doilies with fewer rounds are suitable for confident beginners.